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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28558299">Whispers Under the Twilight Sky</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account'>orphan_account</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Bridgerton (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, Happy Ending for all, M/M, Polin, because benedict is in the closet, jealous Colin, maybe not for Cressida</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-11 00:54:55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,432</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28558299</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Semi AU<br/>Penelope unearths a scandalous secret while Colin finds his buried feelings surfacing in the light of Penelope's courtship with another man.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Benedict Bridgerton/Original Male Character, Colin Bridgerton/Penelope Featherington, minor Anthony Bridgerton/Kate Sheffield, minor Simon Basset/Daphne Bridgerton</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>321</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Evening Comes Far Too Slowly</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I am absolutely in love with this pair. I would love to see this fandom grow. Also, no proofreader so if you see errors, let me know please. Happy reading!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> It was an awfully mundane party on an exceedingly humid Wednesday. The ball was in full swing over at the lavish abode of the Hastings. And while almost everyone present were up to the usual pomp and circumstance, Penelope is awash with nervous energy. She spied the lovely newly-weds, the Duke and Duchess of Hastings themselves, on the dancefloor leading the ton in a customary waltz. She peered around, trying to memorize the interior of the mansion. In an hour, she must procure a hackney without being seen. Such is the life of one "Lady Whistledown" and with a bounty on her notorious head, she needs to be more cautious then ever. </p><p><br/>
 Penelope slowly backed towards the back of the crowd, a disappearing act she perfected long ago. She ambled her way toward the foyer but hid between the pillars as soon as she heard a rather boisterous conversation of one Cressida Cowper and whoever poor man she accosted. She winced upon hearing her forced shrill laughter. </p><p><br/>
 She cursed under her breath. The Duke rarely opens his sprawling mansion to the society therefore, one could easily lose their path within its majestic hallways. Penelope needs to find her way to the stables soon. Her editor would only wait until half past the hour and she is losing precious time. She quietly walked her way away from Cressida and to, what she presumed, is the servant's quarters. Quietly humming under her breath to ease the anxiety of being discovered away, ambled to her destination when she heard a sharp cry. Always a good Samaritan, she followed the sound and opened the door. </p><p><br/>
 "Oh," she murmured in surprise, then slammed the door. She picked up the hem of her gown and ran as if the devil himself were after her. She heard her name called out but she paid no heed. </p><p><br/>
 The visage heavily imprinted in her mind and still she could not process what she saw. Benedict Bridgerton, naked and bent over a study table, in a moment of passion. That itself is shocking but his partner in the act, even more. Because the man rutting into him, was none other than the newly titled Baron, Maximillian Bell, her only suitor.</p><p>======================================================================</p><p> Colin found himself bored our of his mind. After the sunny islets of Greece, the rainy disposition of London feels more like prison. The constant chatter of the hopefull maidens and their insistent mothers give him a splitting headache. He scanned around for a familiar face, usually in the form of his siblings or of Penelope Featherington, to ensconce with. Eloise is busy complaining to Anthony. Benedict is nowhere to be found, and so is Miss Featherington. With a polite smile, he excused himself away from Mrs. Bowen and her insipid daughter, and rushed toward his siblings. </p><p><br/>
 "Really, Anthony, I see no reason to stay here. I have performed my required three dances and I am ready to leave," Eloise insisted.</p><p><br/>
 "And again, the answer is no," Anthony ground out. He turned to Colin for help but the latter held up his arms in neutrality. </p><p><br/>
 "Must I? Pen and Max already left, as did Benedict. There are no more minds of intellect to converse with. My intelligence is slowly being whittled away by these ignorami," she said as she gestured around. </p><p><br/>
 Anthony merely chortled in amusement, while Colin barked in faux-outrage, "Offense, dear sister!"</p><p><br/>
 "Oh, you know what I meant."</p><p><br/>
 "Who is this Max you are referring to?"</p><p><br/>
 "He is the new baron that swept the ton early on this season. Came out of nowhere. And surprised everyone by charming Miss Featherington after one dance. Romantic, even by my standards," Anthony generously replied. <br/>
 Colin furrowed his brows at his elder brother's ample knowledge since usually his brother pays no heed to the comings and goings of the season. He does not even subscribe from the infamous Lady Whistledown. </p><p><br/>
 "He made sure to investigate him because his Kate shared a friendly correspondence with Max once a upon a time. Green is very becoming on him, is it not?" Eloise teased. </p><p><br/>
 Anthony merely grunted.</p><p><br/>
 "So I take it Mrs. Featherington is over the moon with this development. She only has Penelope to left after Prudence marries."</p><p><br/>
 Eloise shared a look with Anthony and sighed. "You are very mistaken, brother. It is Prudence that will stay with Mrs. Featherington once the courtship comes to fruition."</p><p><br/>
 Colin found himself frowning. "A lot has happened in my absence, clearly," he said to mask the growing displeasure with the news. </p><p><br/>
 Anthony simply patted his shoulder in sympathy, magnanimous enough to refrain from saying anything else, though this gesture escapes Colin entirely.</p><p> </p><p>Benedict walked upon them looking windswept and red-faced. </p><p> </p><p>"Where did you disappear off to? We thought you left!" exclaimed Eloise. </p><p> </p><p>"Just gathered some air. It became stifling in here," he answered elusively. "Say, have you seen Penelope?"</p><p> </p><p>"She's very popular this evening," Eloise remarked as she glared at Colin and Benedict, "such a shame that she's missing as well. As her stalwart friend, I demand you tell me why you are looking for her." </p><p> </p><p>Benedict let out a nervous laugh, "I am just remarking on her noticeable disappearance, sister. Surely, she's a staple on your side."</p><p> </p><p>Eloise eyed him, unimpressed, "Yes, she told me that she's retiring for the night. Too much of the ton is bad for one's constitution." </p><p> </p><p>"Right," he exhaled as he scanned the crowd. Colin couldn't help but be unease with his brother's interrogation about the young lady.</p><p> </p><p>In half a year's worth of disappearance from society, he sure missed a lot. And a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach tells him that he is not favorable with the developing situation with Penelope Featherington. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Morning came and went</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Maximillian and Penelope talks, Colin broods, and Eloise is thoroughly frustrated.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Talk to me about Max</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Penelope received little sleep last night. She tossed and turned in her bed, while the image of Maximillian and Benedict's tryst burned in her brain. It was scandalous. Improper. Obscene. </p><p>And absolutely <em>hot</em>. </p><p>There was an abundance of thoughts that rolled past her mind as she ran away. She bears no feelings toward her suitor, if not flattery that someone noticed her femininity at long last. Although, his abrupt courtship of her has always been suspect. She just felt little anger that he chose her to hide his promiscuity. Easy pickings, perhaps? And now that she has discovered his preference, surely she cannot compete with a Bridgerton, regardless of sex. </p><p>Speaking of sex...</p><p>Her virginal eyes has never come upon a naked man, let alone two. In flagrante delicto...now her imagination has run amok. Is that really how it is? Bliss in such a wanton passion. How would it feel, as a woman underneath a man rutting like an animal in heat? Would <em>he</em> look like that too?</p><p>Delusions of grandeur, she acknowledged. But for someone who carried a torch for so long and been given such munitions for imagination, how can she not? Colin Bridgerton has been the man of her many daydreams, and the sole reason she has not committed herself to Lord Bell's proposal albeit her mother's insistence. </p><p>He has never looked at her the same way he had with Marina. He fell headlong into a doomed romance. And once he discovers that it was her machinations as Lady Whistledown that destroyed their chance to be together, any sort of kinship will be gone. </p><p>But a yearning heart will always pine, as it is meant to do. Years of experience taught her well.</p><p>And now that he is back from his travels, her heart roars with naïve anticipation. </p><p>"Penelope, do comb your hair before Lord Bell comes in. One needs to be presentable to her suitor, lest he change his mind," tutted her mother. </p><p>"Which he most likely will," Prudence commented haughtily.</p><p>"Hush, you," Portia Featherington hissed, "do not curse your sister, lest it actually happens."</p><p>Penelope only bit her lip in disdain. "Yes, mama."</p><p>The butler burst in the room announcing, "Ma'am, Lord Bell is here for the young miss."</p><p>Portia jumped from her seat and tried to arrange the nonexistent kinks in Penelope's hair. "Sit up straight, dear. You look frumpier with a slouched back." </p><p>"Yes, Mama."</p><p>"Welcome him in."</p><p>=================================================================</p><p>Colin took an angry bite out the blueberry scone as he peered down below the streets. A marked hackney with an unfamiliar crest halted outside the Featherington residence. A simmering rage from unknown origins filled him and his only outlet are the blasted blueberry scones. </p><p>Eloise closed her book and rolled her eyes. Her brooding brother perched by the window has been distraction enough. She cast a suffering look to Anthony, who also rolled his eyes and continued sipping his tea. She directed her gaze to her mother, who just graciously sighed. </p><p>"Colin, dear, how do you fare this morning?" Violet Bridgerton sympathetically asked. "Perhaps a pitcher of tea with that plate of scones?"</p><p>"I'm fine, thank you," he answered shortly whilst not removing his attention from the window. </p><p>Anthony smirked as Eloise huffed. "Are you going to brood all day, brother? If you are, can you move elsewhere in the house? You are quite a distraction. Or maybe, actually do something about your...dilemma?"</p><p>Colin sputtered in reply, "I do not have a dilemma! What makes you speak of that, Eloise?"</p><p>Kate, sitting across her husband, blurted out loudly, "Has he always been obtuse like this?"</p><p>Anthony chortled, "Ignorance runs on the male side of this family, I think." </p><p>"Maybe you should go out and about, Colin dear," his mother supplied. Eloise caught her mother's pleading look in her direction. </p><p>"Fine!" she bit out, "Come, brother. I have need for a chaperone."</p><p>"Take Anthony," Colin dismissed her as he went back to staring outside. </p><p>"Must I?" Eloise stage-whispered. </p><p>"Eloise!" Violet admonished her  </p><p>"Come on, you numpty," Eloise started as she dragged her brother away from his nook. "I need to see Pen and Max. They should both be at her residence now. Surely, you won't let me go unaccompanied?"</p><p>Colin, who perked up at Miss Featherington's name, only mumbled, "Well, if you really need my presence," as he let himself be led away. </p><p>"A late season wedding, perchance?" Kate asked. </p><p>"My Colin is exceedingly stubborn, darling. Maybe after the season ends is more like it."</p><p>"Hah! Mother, I'm willing to bet a hundred guineas that it won't be until next year."</p><p>Violet sniffed but collected her purse. </p><p>=================================================================</p><p>"You are very gracious, Madame," Maximillian Bell beguilingly said. Portia all but swooned at his charm while Penelope still cannot make herself look him in the eye. "Although it is improper, might I have a discussion with Miss Featherington in private?"</p><p>Portia jumped from her seat for the nth time. Penelope can only guess what is in her mother's mind. An official proposal for her hand but she knew it was strictly the matter of last night's events. As soon as her mother and her sister left the room, an air of awkwardness filled the space. </p><p>"Miss Featherington, er...Penelope, if I may be so bold..."</p><p>"Um...alright," she squeaked out, much to her mortification. </p><p>"Right, erm, Penelope, I believe we must discuss last night's..." he trailed off, forcing Penelope turn to at him. </p><p>"Of course, I will let my mother know that you are cancelling the engagement," she murmured. "And I will not say a word about what I saw. Last night. You have my word."</p><p>"Actually, that is what I wanted to discuss," Max scooted closer to her. "I would like to continue our courtship, with the intention of marriage."</p><p>"You cannot be serious. Are you not," she leaned closer and whispered, "a dandy?"</p><p>"I have had my fair share of dalliances, Penelope. But that is all in the past. I still need to sire an inheritor for the barony. And fret not, I promise to be faithful once we are wed. I would take care of all your financial needs and guarantee that you will be treated with the respect you deserve."</p><p>"Why me, Lord Bell? Is it because I have no other prospects that you can confidently strut in here and offer me a marriage proposal after what I've seen last night?" Penelope accused him. His impertinence drew umbrage from her. </p><p>At least he had the good grace to look chastised. "While it was unfortunate that you have seen what you saw, it does not change the fact that I value your grace and sincerity, Penelope. I asked for your hand because you are the only one I can see myself spending the rest of my life with. It's true that I cannot offer you love, such is scarce within our circle, you see. However, it does not change that I am drawn to your goodness and wit. A true woman of substance. I am just blessed that no one else seemed to clue in on it."</p><p>His words seemed genuine. Nevertheless, she still had to ask, "But you...what about Benedict?"</p><p>He stilled. "Nothing good will come out of that train of thought."</p><p>"Do you love him? Because if you do, I cannot allow our partnership to continue. I will not stand in the way of love, sir."</p><p>"And what do you know of love?" he scoffed at her. </p><p>"I may not look like I have experienced much, Maximillian, but I can assure you I know of love. Even one from a distance."</p><p>He saw the outrage on her person, and beneath that, the despair that she always carried. Despite his own umbrage, he felt sympathy for her. Mayhaps, in solidarity with that familiar feeling. He sighed in defeat. </p><p>"He denies our love. He denies <em>us</em>."</p><p>"Oh."</p><p>"It was a whirlwind affair doomed from the very beginning. Attraction and lust can only carry a relationship so far. Besides, our peerage does not permit such a sin. "</p><p>Overcome with such empathy, she placed her hand over his. "At least you had a chance. The thought of being with me has never crossed his mind. Sometimes, I feel he barely notices me when I am in a room with him."</p><p>"He's either a bumbling idiot or riddled with blindness."</p><p>She chuckled at his kindness. "Sometimes I do not mind. It gives me ample chance to enjoy his person from afar. Pathetic, aren't I?"</p><p>"Not the least, dear Penelope. We are both kindred spirits. If you are pathetic, then what am I?" he asked as he leaned towards her.</p><p>"A kind and good man with a weary heart," she said earnestly.</p><p>"Look at us. Both weary hearts, eh?" he ribbed her good-naturedly.</p><p>And for the first time that day, she smiled. </p>
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